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Apr 10, 2023

Kingston Fury Renegade RGB DDR5

In November, we first looked at what Kingston had going in the gaming segment

In November, we first looked at what Kingston had going in the gaming segment for DDR5. A couple of months later, we got our first look at what they offered with RGB attached. The issue was that many of their kits, while speedy for that time, were not where people expect to see with RAM speeds today. Kingston recently got a hold of us and asked if we would like to see their fastest kit, but we also got a color change this time.

While we were in no way upset with what we have seen with the DDR5 Kingston of the past, we are always eager to test new goods and see how the companies are progressing with the market. While 8000 MHz and beyond are available now, you will need the right CPU to take advantage of the higher realm of speeds. Around 6000 MHz is the sweet spot for AMD users, but we push until the RAM quits or our IMC gives up the ghost. Kingston offers a kit that should keep those interested in getting the most from their PC possible without overstepping the boundaries too much.

As we look at the latest to surface from Kingston, it will remind you of the kit we saw back in January, with three significant differences. These newer sets of DDR5 are Intel and AMD compliant, and even though the XMP profile is a bit much for AMD, they have the second and third profiles set slower to help accommodate the AMD crowd. The second difference is that we get a hefty bump in speed this time around, whereas previous to this, the fastest we saw was 6000 MHz.

The third and most significant visual change is that rather than being black and silver, they are now available in white and silver, which perfectly matches our test system. While we are excited to see the latest and greatest from Kingston, we will give the Fury Renegade RGB the fair shake and abuse it as we would any other to see if they have what you need to go along with your current or future DDR5 system.

As we see in the chart, the newest Fury Renegade RGB goes by the part number KF572C38RWAK2-32, which delivers most of the information you need to know about it. Of course4, this is DDR5, and the W in the part number refers to the white color, but as the black version does, the white comes with silver trim on the aluminum heat spreaders. Kits can be had in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB densities, all delivered in two sticks. There are also four speed options, starting at 6000 MHz and now up to 7200 MHz, the latter of which is what we have today.

With the speed set to 7200MHz in our sample, we get timings of 38-44-44-105 2T, which lands in the middle of other 7200 MHz sets we have tested in the past. To run at this speed, the VDIMM needs 1.45V to get stability, yet the SA and MC are set to the same values as other 7200 MHz examples, helping to keep temperatures at a minimum. Dimensionally these kits are 133.35mm long, 44mm tall, and 7.66mm wide, with each stick weighing in at 53.7 grams, most of which are aluminum heat spreaders. Unlike most other companies, rather than a limited lifetime warranty, Ki9ngston delivers the Fury Renegade RGB with a no-limits lifetime warranty.

There is one hurdle you must overcome if you decide to go with Kingston for this set of DDR5. As we priced what is available in the realm of a 32GB set of 7200 MHz sticks with RGB, we find that pricing starts at $159.99 and can climb up to $359.99. The majority of the dozen or so current options are selling for a tad less than $200, though, and in that mix, we see the Fury Renegade RGB we have at $231.53 on Amazon. A premium price associated with the Fury Renegade RGB we have for you today will put a slightly brighter spotlight on them as the review progresses, costing twenty percent more than other options.

The bar has been raised before we even open the box. Hopefully, Kingston did not settle along the way for cross-compatibility, as there is no room for a mediocre product at this price. Time will tell, and we urge you to stick around, as this may be the perfect set for your next build, even with a higher price tag associated with them.

The packaging is eye-catching, with the bulk of the box being white, with the added black and red trim. It is noted at DDR5 at the top before we see the Kingston Fury Renegade naming. We then find a sticker with the speed and density just above the image of the white RGB stick and modes of sync to change the lighting effects. At the very bottom, we see that Kingston intends these kits for both Intel and AMD setups.

On the back of the packaging, we see the Fury Renegade RGB with its lighting display on a motherboard. We are then told that this is high-performance DDR5 and again see the Fury CTRL and other sync compatibility, where the bottom is used for the legal information and the product sticker.

Inside the cardboard, you will find your kit enveloped in clear plastic. Not only does it keep things from crushing, but it also locks the sticks in place and acts as an anti-static barrier. Along with the pair of sticks, we also found a Kingston Fury sticker floating around inside the plastic.

We love the look of the white and silver version, a considerable departure from what we typically see in RAM offerings. The backdrop of the aluminum heat spreaders is painted white, with a large portion of the trim made of brushed aluminum. Kingston, Renegade, and DDR5 are painted onto the spreaders, but the FURY name is machined, leaving grooved, exposed aluminum there.

The reverse of both sticks is nearly identical, where we get the white backdrop and the brushed aluminum trim. However, none of the painted names are present, and rather than the FURY in the center, we get the product sticker. We found the part number, the voltage needed to run correctly, that it is a kit of two, and that you will void the warranty if you remove the stickers.

Looking at the sticks with this slight angle in the mix, we can see all of what we described previously, but also, the Fury name is much more detailed. We can now see the angled machining done to make the name stand out against the brushed aluminum and painted surface.

The diffusers at the top of each stick are flat across the center portion but angled at the ends to match the brushed aluminum trim on either side. The ends of the heat spreaders come together at the top, blocking a portion of the RGB, but Kingston was sure to paint Fury on the tops so that it is easy for someone to tell who made them.

At either end is a screw, and naively we assumed that Kingston might be giving us easy access for extreme cooling options. However, the thermal tape used on the ICs is some of the toughest to separate that we have ever seen. Kingston uses a thermal pad on the PMIC for added cooling, and we can see a set of SK Hynix H5CG48AGBD IC across the black PCB.

In control of using the 5V line to step down the voltage to appropriate levels is this unlocked PMIC. Looking to Google for the manufacturer, we see that ANPEC makes this APW8502C chip. We have run across this PMIC previously and have had no issues with power delivery.

As we mentioned earlier, the white version of the Fury Renegade RGB is a perfect match to our Z790 APEX-based system. As stunning as it looks now, things get even better once power is applied and the RGB is set loose to show off its full range of colors.

The colors are bright, with no signs of hotspots across the diffuser. Not only does the lighting look amazing when the system is powered, but due to the Infrared Sync Technology, the sticks never go out of phase, unlike most other examples. Whether it has been running for ten minutes or ten months, the colors on the sticks match identically the entire time they are powered.

To obtain the Intel CPU-Z screenshots, you will see directly following this image; this is the system we used to do it, as well as in getting the results seen in the following pages. Thanks to Intel, be quiet!, ASUS, MSI, Corsair, and Sabrent for supporting us with this venture. Detailed specifications of the system can be found below.

Once we cleared CMOS, fired up the system, and applied the XMP profile, we got this. The Fury Renegade RGB runs at 7200 MHz with 38-44-44-105 2T timings. To do so, the VDIMM is set to 1.45V, the SA is at 1.281V, and the MC is running at 1.296V.

After adding a bit of voltage, we messed about with the timings and found that our Fury Renegade RGB will run stable at 7200 MHz with 32-42-42-105 2T timings. As to the voltages we used, the VDIMM, VDDq, and Tx were raised to 1.55V, while we also increased the SA to 1,381V and the MC to 1.40V.

Going to the maximum speed while keeping the XMP set of timings, we got this kit up to 7600 MHz with complete stability. To do so, we used the same voltages we used to seek the lowest timings.

Punching above its weight class in read performance in AIDA64, we see the Fury Renegade RGB above all other 7200 MHz offerings in the chart. Starting with a 2335 MB/s advantage over the T-Force Delta RGB is a great start and shows Kingston knew what they were doing. Taking things past the 110,855 MB/s starting point, we could add a slight advantage of 176 Mb/s with reduced timings, but with more speed, that advantage increased to 4274 MB/s over the XMP value.

Write performance follows suit, with the Fury Renegade RGB being the best in its class. With more than 2000 MB/s advantage over the Lancer MERA Edition sticks, Kingston enters the game at 106, 443 MB/s throughput. Lowering the timings only gave us a boost of 176 MB/s, but with increased speed, Kingston landed at the top of the chart, past the set of Xtreme five, with an enormous 16,296 Mb/s jump above what XMP delivered.

Copy performance is also outstanding, with the Fury Renegade RGB still leading their category. With XMP delivering us 105,493 MB/s throughput, we cannot complain, but there is more to be had from this kit. A reduction in timings gives an increase of 620 Mb/s which is not all that terrific, but with more speed added to them, we bumped the difference from XMP results another 5920 MB/s.

Latency is nothing to scoff at, either. While the XMP profile delivers 64ns, which is the slowest of the 7200 MHz kits, with a little bit of tinkering, we took the results to right near the fastest we have tested.

Super Pi shows us that the Fury Renegade RGB is not the fastest in its class but is less than five seconds from the fastest 7200 MHz set. Reducing the timings gets us within a couple of seconds from the Delta RGB, but with more speed added to our kit, we got within half a second of the Viper Venom.

PCMark 10 liked the XMP run the best, landing the Fury Renegade RGB second of the 7200 MHz submissions but in sixth place overall. We lost some headway with additional speed, but the reduction of timings plunged the results down to where many other 7200 MHz samples score.

File compression does not seem to hate Kingston, but we do find the Viper Venom, Delta RGB, and Mera Edition kits above their time in this chart. While not a horrible start to this test, we gained five seconds back with added speed and found Kingston just behind the Viper Venom with some timing adjustments.

Transcoding is another metric where the Fury Renegade RGB so not do so well out of the box. The XMP results land them next to last in their class, beating out only the Mera Edition kit. Even with added speed or changing the timings, we still find them beaten by the Delta RGB and the Viper Venom.

Based on aesthetics alone, even though we have had some impressive-looking submissions, none have matched our build this well. The white backdrop and the aluminum trim match the Z790 APEX so well you'd think they were intended for this setup. On top of that, we haven't even mentioned the lighting yet. Not only do they sync to the motherboard software without a hitch, but we are also coming up empty trying to recall another maker of RAM that kept the lighting in sync the entire time, with both sticks cycling colors in step.

In the time it takes to get into Windows, most other submissions have already lost the effect of the sticks matching. We feel that every manufacturer should note this Infrared Sync Technology, and develop their own versions, as this can make or break a sale to those who want the best of the best in ARGB lighting effects.

Performance starts extremely well for Kingston, and there is no other example of 7200 MHz sticks that offer this level of throughput in our charts. Even in latency, the Fury Renegade RGB is no slouch. As for the out-of-the-box XMP performance across the board, it is better than average compared to all submissions, even though it may not be the best in its class at that point.

However, there is always the option to overclock these kits, and doing so either gets us very close to the best results or we were able to surpass the XMP result of the other examples. With the unlocked PMIC and the call to use some of the better ICs in the game right now, by most metrics, these Fury Renegade RGB sticks are set up to deliver you a great user experience along with the looks and the fantastic ARGB illumination.

We have realized that the screws are used to secure the spreaders better, and that is it. The thermal tape that covers the ICs is some of the stickiest we have ever seen. While hot, in the range of 50°C with overvolting and extreme testing, immediate removal and heat spreader results in torn tape and a couple of broken thumbnails. Had Kingston offered something like what we saw in the Xtreme 5 from Patriot, we would be complimenting Kingston on adding access, but in this instance, it seems like lipstick on a pig. It just isn't needed. The tape alone is enough to hold the spreaders, making the screws nearly pointless.

With all signs so far pointing to the fact that many will likely run right out and start to compare the Fury Renegade RGB to other 7200 MHz kits, what you will find is that they are not the most expensive in their class, but they are almost $100 more than the most affordable solution. If throughput and latency are all you are after, you will find nothing better at this speed. In other metrics, that $231.53 price point is a bit harder to swallow. In certain instances, as with our system, you will not find a better match aesthetically, and we can see that fact swaying many, as will the Infrared Sync Technology.

However, being as objective as possible, we still feel that these would sell much better at the $200 mark, where they would be much more competitive with the others in its segment. If we were building a new gaming system with this motherboard, we would absolutely opt for the Kingston Fury Renegade RGB for its performance, aesthetics, and ARGB lighting control.

Performance

90%

Quality

100%

Features

100%

Value

89%

Overall

95%

These are the best looking set of Kingston DDR5 we have ever had. Performance is good, the lighting is amazing, but the cost may make users opt for other kits in its class.